Today, on March 18, 2015, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk in the history of mankind performed by Russian cosmonaut Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov.

The spacewalk performed on March 18, 1965, became the event of great importance: it was the first time a man took a step into the open space.

On March 18, 1965, 10.00, Moscow time, Voskhod -2 with Pavel Belyayev and Alexey Leonov onboard was launched from Baikonur spaceport.

At 11.35 A. Leonov became the first ever man to leave air lock and take first step into the open space where spent in space 12 minutes and 9 seconds. This spacewalk laid the basis for a new period in space exploration starting history of extra vehicular activities that at the present time are essential part of cosmonauts’ work.